


Homeward

by Thesmarterudite



Category: Far Cry (Video Games), Far Cry 5, Far Cry: New Dawn
Genre: Angst, Childhood Memories, Dreams, Enemies to Friends, Family Reunions, Feelings, Frenemies, Gangs, Gen, Homecoming, Hope County, Memories, Nightmares, Post-Apocalypse, Redemption, Reunions, Road Trips, Travel, Twins, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-05-12 23:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19239664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thesmarterudite/pseuds/Thesmarterudite
Summary: Four months after the events of New Dawn, Captain Irene Rylow is more than shocked to find Mickey, of all people, asking for her help in finding her mother.Out of the kindness of her heart, Irene reluctantly agrees, leading the two women on a bittersweet road trip full of dangerous power hungry highwayman, deep-rooted truths, and heartfelt reunions.





	1. Chapter 1

I exhale slowly in relaxation. I close my eyes, lean my head my head back in the chair I'm sitting in, and clear my head.

Sometimes I like to take a breather at Roughneck's Crag. Preferably alone and at night, when it's most peaceful.

**_THUNK!_ **

And _preferably_ when someone _isn't_ throwing rocks at the wall.

Frustrated, I pick up my head, get up from the chair, and make my way outside. I decide to wait to use Eden's Gift, but I can still feel it gnawing under my skin, always at the ready.

When I reach the entrance, I see a feminine figure leaning against a wooden post, tossing a rock -I presume- up in the air. As I get closer, I see that they are wearing a familiar color blue. Huh, kind of reminds me of...

"Mickey?!"

What's she doing here? What happened to going East?

"Rabbit." She monotonously greets me.

She looks different. Like really different. She wearing a plain blue hoodie -a full hoodie this time, not the crop-top looking one I always saw her in- with black jeans and black sneakers that were white on the bottom.

But the biggest change was her hair. Gone was the platinum blonde dye and trademark Dutch braids. Now it was down, black, and a bit wavy, except a small horizontally braided part on the left side.

"Look, I know I said I was gonna go East. And I did. Trust me, I tried, but without any resources, I can't." Mickey explains before mumbling something I couldn't quite hear.

"I'm sorry, what?" I frown.

"I need..." She says before trailing off again.

"What?"

She sighs and rolls her eyes.

"I need your help."

I blink, shocked and surprised. Wow. I never in a million years would thought I'd hear those words come out of her mouth. Directed at me, no less.

"I mean, if you don't want to-"

"I'll do it." I interrupted, the words spilling out of my mouth without giving me time to think about it.

Now it's her turn to be shocked and surprised.

"What?" She frowns.

"I'll do it. I'll help you go East. I'll help you find your mom." I say.

"Oh. Cool..." Mickey says awkwardly, filing the space with silence and giving me time to really think about my brash agreement.

Why did I say yes? To be fair, I never thought about saying no. I guess a part of me pities her.

My mother words echoes in my head.

_"Irene, never be afraid to help someone, even if it seems scary."_

And there's nothing scarier than traveling across the country with the person who tried to kill you twice four months ago.

17 years and her advice still holds up.

"Okay," I say, bringing Mickey attention from the dirt, "Give me one day to get all the supplies we need, then we'll head out. Until then, lay low."

Mickey nods, then she walks away without another word.

I can't believe I'm doing this.


	2. Chapter 2

In the morning, I make my way to Prosperity.

"Open the gates!" The guy manning the gates shouts, allowing me to enter.

I smile and wave at him before walking in.

As always, the home base is booming with life. Children chasing each other across the yard. People walking laughing, talking, or building. Some of them even greet me happily. I love the atmosphere here.

I walk into the Cartography facility and scan the faces of people until I find who I'm looking for. Bean.

He smiles in greeting as I approach him.

"Hi, Cap. What I get for ya?" Bean says.

"Can I get a map of the United States?" I ask.

"Sure can!" He says cheerfully, handing me a rolled up map.

I unravel it a bit to sneak a peek at what it looks like. It's perfect, a close enough view of the States and its cities.

"Perfect." I echo my thoughts, "Thanks, Bean."

"No problem!" He responds in his always cheerful tone.

                              ∆∆∆

After stuffing some portable food from the kitchen and weapons into a duffel bag, I quickly make way back to the gates of Prosperity.

"Hey, Cap." A voice startles me once I'm outside the gates.

I turn left to at the source. It's Dep. My predecessor in the Hero department.

He's made a lot of progress since Joseph first told him to assist me. He traded his mask for sunglasses and started talking to people more. Not all the time, of course -he has never been that much of a talker from what I've heard- but it's better than the mute Judge that I met.

He and I have become close in the last few months. Ever since Rush's death, he has been there for me, especially with the whole Hero thing. It's amazing how similar our journies are. His helped me a lot on mine. I'm almost beginning to see him as a father figure.

"Hey, Dep," I respond.

"What are doing with all that stuff?" He gestures to the duffel bag hanging off my shoulder. "Are you planning to go on another expedition with Roger?"

Suddenly, I am hit with a realization. I never thought of a cover story. I can't just tell people I'm going off with the one person responsible for most of our troubles all those months ago.

"Uhh..." I stall, looking at the Deputy. "Can you do a _huge_ favor for me?"

"Sure," He frowns and crosses his arms, "What is it?"

"I'm helping out a..." I pause for a bit to think, "...a _friend_ and I'll be gone for a few days. Can you cover for me? I promise it's for the greater good."

"Fine," Dep says "As long you're helping someone in need."

"Thanks, Dep." I smile "I owe you one."

                            ∆∆∆

I enter Roughneck Crag and set the map and duffel bag down on the wooden counter.

"Hey, rabbit." A voice from behind me greets.

Why is everyone scaring me today?

I turn around and see Mickey sitting at a table and eating a handful of grapes.

"What are you doing here? What happened to laying low?" I question her.

"What do you think I'm doing? I haven't got caught yet. It's all good." She responds, waving her free hand dismissively.

I huff and rolled my eyes. Whatever.

I spread the map onto the counter and pull a red marker out of the duffel bag.

I uncap the marker, "Come show me where you live."

Mickey gets up from the table and pops her last grape into her mouth. She grabs the marker from me and studies the map before she circles a city named Peoria in Illinois.

"Illinois? Huh." I say. Illinois is three states away. It'll take us at least a day or so to get there and that's if we don't make any stops.

"Will that is a _problem_ for you, rabbit?" Mickey says snidely.

Still obsessed with problems, I see.

"No, I'm just planning on how we're going to do this," I responded.

Mickey and I spend the next hour as the sun went down planning and plotting which roads to take to Peoria. The road we plan to take would take us through South Dakota, then briefly into Minnesota, down into Iowa and from there, Illinois.

As I look at the road highlighted in ruby red, I can't help but exhale nervously. I _really_ hope we do find her mother at the end of all of this. I really don't know what I would do if we don't. I really don't know what _she_ would do if we don't.

"Alright, we'll leave tomorrow morning." I yawn, then pause, "Do you...do you have a place to sleep?"

"Of course, I do." Mickey rolls her eyes, "Oh and don't worry about getting a car. I got that handled."

"Oh, good," I respond.

Mickey walks away without another word and I go back inside to check over the map again, before falling asleep at the counter.


	3. Chapter 3

My day starts with my face hitting the hardwood floor.

"What the-?!" I squint my eyes and look up at my assailant.

And of course, it's Mickey. Who else.

She smiles smugly at me, "Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty!"

I glare at her from the floor and she taps me with her foot, "Up and at 'em, rabbit. The sooner we hit the road, the sooner we can get this over."

"Was that _really_ necessary?" I huff, picking myself off of the floor.

"Oh, completely." She responds.

I look outside. Ugh, the sun's not even up yet.

"Besides, I..." Mickey trails off, suddenly solemn and looking at the floor, "I wanted to make a stop before we go."

I frown at her sudden change of demeanor, "Okay, let's go."

The map I got from Bean is still spread out across the counter. I roll it up and grab the duffel bag, stuffing the map into it.

Mickey and I exit Roughneck Crag and make our way to a burgundy car, myself in the driver's seat and Mickey in the passenger. I start up the car and Mickey gives me directions to where she wants to go. My heart drops when we arrive at a grave.

_Lou's grave._

Mickey gets out the car and walks -then sits on her legs- in front of a wooden cross. I see that _'L. Hughes'_ is carved into the horizontal piece of wood.

I didn't even know Mickey buried Lou. I sink in my seat. I almost feel guilty about killing Lou. I didn't just kill Rush's murderer, I killed a twin, a built-in best friend.

I imagine Mickey burying her sister and my mind goes back to when I had to bury Rush. For a split sickening second, I feel pride in making Mickey suffer as I did. Maybe that's part of the reason I spared her. An eye for an eye, right?

Yet, I feel that's not the full reason, though.

About 20 minutes later, Mickey gets in the car, slamming the door behind her. Silently, I put the car in reverse and drive down the road that will take us out of Hope County.

There's no turning back now.

 


	4. Chapter 4

For the first two hours, the car ride is dead silent. I was fine with it until Mickey turns on the radio, playing the Highwayman's awful rap music. Fine, their music is _sometimes_ catchy, and I guess I like that it at least has a message.

Mickey turns up the volume, head slightly nodding to the music. I cringe and try to turn the volume down, but as my hand nears the dial, Mickey smacks my hand away.

" _What do you think you're doing_?!" Mickey exclaims, " _Never_ touch my radio!"

"I was just gonna-"

"Don't care." Mickey cuts me off, "My car, my rules."

"Rules?" I scoff, my eyes trained on the road in front of me. Mickey returns to nodding along with the music and puts her bare feet on the dashboard.

"Yeah, rules. No touching the radio, no singing, no complaining, and just because we're going on this little _"road trip"_ together, doesn't make us friends," Mickey states, always wanting to be on top.

She knows she doesn't always have to be on top, right?

"I wasn't counting it," I said.

"No sassy comebacks, either." Mickey retorts before huffing in frustration, "I don't even know why I'm doing this with you. _You_ , of all people. You _killed_ my sister."

"Well, you killed Rush," I said.

"Well, if you didn't try to play the hero-"

" _Oh_ , I'm _sorry_ for trying to save the county from your reign of terror." I snap.

" _'Reign of terror.'_ Wow." Mickey scoffs, "Well, I'm _sorry_ for just trying to survive. If you hate me so much, then why are doing this?"

"I don't know..." I trail off, "Because I pity you?"

After a second of silence, I think of a better reason, "Because growing up, I was always taught to treat everyone with kindness and have the capacity to forgive. I live by that. Mickey, when you were expressing your regrets to your sister, you showed me that you had the capacity to change. I guess, a few weeks after that night I forgave you subconsciously."

"Oh, huh," Mickey says awkwardly, leaving the car in silence.

"So..." I start, breaking the silence after a few moments, "After what I did, after everything we've been through, why did you come to me?"

"Like I said," Mickey answers quickly, "I didn't have any resources."

I don't believe her.

"That's it? Are you sure?" I ask, prying for more information.

"Yes," Mickey snaps, "Now drop it, rabbit."

We ride in silence until we see a sign that announces our departure from the state of Montana and our entry into South Dakota.

"Great," Mickey says, looking out the windows, "The sooner this trip ends, the better."

I roll my eyes.

I have a feeling we'll get more out of this trip than just hate and silence.


	5. Nothing But Hope

**Two Months Earlier**

Crouched and hiding behind a bush, Mickey focuses her eyes on a rabbit. Not a person this time, an _actual_ fluffy small animal.

The former highwayman readies her bow and arrow and shoots. Unfortunately for her, Mickey is not well versed in using bow and arrows and misses three times before managing to get an arrow to go through the white rabbit.

She smiles to herself at her small victory and picks up the rabbit, putting it's bloody body in a burlap bag that she brought with her. Dinner may be small tonight, but she's looking forward to it.

Mickey walks the two minutes it takes to get to a half-sunken and tilted cabin she's called home for the past month. She skins the rabbit and slides the body through a stick. Soon the rabbit is roasting over a fire she made, turning the meat on the other side every few minutes.

Mickey silently thanks her dad for teaching her and Lou some survival skills when they were little. Back before the Collapse, when Mom and Dad weren't fighting, when they were all together as a _family_.

A pang of grief hits the former leader.

_'I've got to find Mom.'_ She thinks solemnly, staring at the fire.

A few days after the night of Lou's death, she tried finding her mother. She took a car and started going East, but after hours of riding around with no progress, she realizes that she needs help.

As she stares at the fire now, she tries to think of who she could trust.

She thinks of Carmina Rye. The girl whose dad Mickey and Lou kept hostage and forced to make their motorcycles. She seem pretty nice up until Mickey backhanded her. Maybe Carmina would give her a chance. But then, there are her parents, who will _definitely_ be less forgiving than their daughter. It's best to avoid drama right now, so Carmina is out.

Then she thinks of the highwaymen, but she was never close to any of them. She only ever had Lou. Nonetheless, she decides to try her luck with... Gina? No, she doesn't seem like the forgiving type and she has her hands full with those two idiots and a baby.

There's that other dude that was so annoying and always picked a fight with the two of them. What was his name? Irving? Ian?

_Irwin_ , that was it. The only person that may be more annoying more than...

The rabbit.

__Absolutely not__.

For a moment, Mickey thinks of her sister's killer. She thinks of how the so-called Hero had the chance to shoot her, to let her join her sister, but she didn't take it, instead she spared her. There's a high chance that the rabbit would help her, even after everything she's done.

Mickey huffs in frustration. She hates this. Being alone, having no resources, no backup, and worse of all, no power, running on nothing but _hope_.

Mickey would anything at this point to put the past behind her and see her mother again.

Even if it means getting help from the place she doesn't want it to be from.


End file.
